OK, so it took a couple margaritas by the Mayan Palace pool to get me there, but there I was, on the beach getting strapped in to the harness, watching the rope play out behind the boat as I received my instructions. "Just watch for my friend to drop the yellow flag, and I will blow the whistle, then you reach up and pull on the harness, here." Ok, but the rope was almost all out, and I didn’t feel ready yet.
"Now, just sit back." I did, the harness rose to meet me, and just like that, I was up. No jerk, no running a couple of steps, just up. Very smooth. It was a 20-minute ride for about $40.00USD, and what a ride. Down past the entrance to the Marina where I looked down on a cruise ship at dock, past beaches of the hotel zone, where people yelled and waved to me. I didn’t dare let go to wave back. I had already made the mistake of looking down at the tow boat, creating a terrible sensation of falling forward out of the harness. Of course, I was securely strapped in, but it was still a pretty awful feeling.
Returning to the beach, I was busy sightseeing and when I looked down, the yellow flag was already on the ground and the guy was blowing his whistle. I wasn’t sure if that had just happened, or if he had been whistling a while, and felt a moment of panic as I reached up and pulled on the harness. I dropped pretty quickly, and came down right into the hands of the operators, a perfect touchdown, if I say so myself.